This invention relates to cigarettes and especially self-extinguishing cigarettes which go out after a few minutes of not being actively smoked, and it also relates to portions or components therefor.
Various governmental and safety services groups have been investigating the possibility of self-extinguishing cigarettes in an effort to cut down on the numbers of injuries and deaths caused by unattended lighted cigarettes. Such unattended lighted cigarettes can be knocked over by children or pets, dropped accidentally or dropped when the smoker falls asleep in bed. Burns or fires often result.
Research has been conducted and continues in the technology of fire-safe cigarettes. These efforts have been directed towards fire retardant cigarette tube wrappers, i.e., cigarette paper, and cigarette paper which promotes the extinguishing of the lighted tobacco and other filler material once the cigarette is dropped or placed in an ashtray.
However, this solution to fire-safe cigarettes is short-sighted, as it will not promote extinguishment of the cigarette when the cigarette falls or is placed in other than the horizontal or reasonably horizontal position.
When a lighted cigarette is placed at an angle of 30 degrees or greater, especially, greater than 45 degrees from horizontal, a "chimney effect" is created. This is true even with filtered cigarettes. This chimney effect is caused by the gases of combustion rising and creating a forced draft which promotes continued combustion.
With this "chimney effect" in operation, a lighted cigarette continues to burn even when not being smoked, thereby defeating the extinguishing properties of the tube wrapper. The burn and fire hazard will thereby remain in a large number of circumstances involving unattended, lighted, self-extinguishing cigarettes.
An object of the present invention is to provide a safe, self-extinguishing cigarette which is not subject to continuous burning when unattended due to "chimney effect".
A second object of the present invention is to provide a valving mouthpiece for cigarettes which valves off the flow of gases and smoke in the absence of a negative pressure created by a smoker's "drawing" action.
A third object of the present invention is to incorporate this valving mouthpiece into a cigarette filter.
A further object is to adjust the amount of draw--negative pressure--needed to be created by a smoker to get the valving mouthpiece to pass gases and smoke, automatically.